


gamble on this

by RenderedReversed



Series: this ain't no fairytale [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Domestic Fluff, I'll get to slash eventually I swear, Item Shop AU, M/M, Pre-Slash, Recettear AU, adventurer!Tom, best read in series order, sorcerer!shopkeeper!Harry, they shop together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-09-02 19:55:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8681350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenderedReversed/pseuds/RenderedReversed
Summary: A casual shopping trip leads to a surprising revelation, for both Tom and Harry. Nothing quite beats the trust between friends.





	

Harry doesn’t know how much money Tom has to his name, but it’s clearly enough to be a little looser with his pockets. This puts them on equal grounds, sort of. It wouldn’t be a trouble if Tom _was_ less-than-financially-stable, but the fact that he isn’t changes equalizing the buying and receiving of gifts to quantity rather than cost.

For example…

Harry admits that he loves to snack while he shops. Who can resist the smell of a food stall? He swears the owners do it on purpose; how else does the scent of vanilla reach a street down—from an _ice cream shop_. There’s no way that’s not fake. Harry buys into it anyway.

So, on the (not rare) occasion that he and Tom share a bite to eat—Harry is all about sharing; food is so much better when he’s not alone—they don’t split the cost with coins. Tom just makes sure to buy next time when he sees something he likes, or Harry does, and it’s all good. Sometimes they end up eating more than they buy, yeah, but if he doesn’t know how to enjoy life’s simple pleasures, how can he enjoy life at all? It’s the little things.

Clearly, gold isn’t the greatest thing in the world. It’s all about the food (and drink).

…Harry doesn’t know how he’s not fat yet, but he’s not going to question it.

“Cider?” Tom asks, passing him his tankard. Ah, the convenience of magic, to have a clean cup wherever one goes. This, Harry thinks, is true luxury.

He takes the drink. “Mmm, pretty good. Did you get the store name?”

Tom hums. “I’ll buy a barrel next time. A small drink before dinner.”

Harry nods approvingly. “Good idea. Tea for digestion after, cider to warm up before.” He passes back the tankard.

Slytherin Marketplace is not the only market in Hogwarts; it’s just the largest. For the common goods, it’s fine to stay within one’s own district, but anything a bit out of the ordinary calls for a trip to Slytherin. Harry likes buying his groceries here. (It’s totally not for the snacks.)

Some vendors can only be found here. Other stalls, like the one Tom bought his cider from, have store fronts in one of the four districts. They advertise their business in Slytherin Marketplace, selling a small selection of their most popular goods with the intent to attract customers back to their usual location. It is definitely a Very Good Plan, but there’s a ton of requirements in place to stop Harry from attempting it. Hedwig’s isn’t old enough, for one.

He also comes here to shop for ingredients, just the common stuff that he can’t be bothered to dive for. One of the skills he picked up over time was ascertaining the magical quality of an item; an open marketplace is the best place to pick and choose. The loss isn’t too much for commons.

Harry blinks, posture straightening as yet another pair of guards walk by. There’s an unusually high amount today. Slytherin Marketplace is well-protected, of course, but the patrol was never this rigorous…

“Curious?” Tom breathes directly into his ear. He can smell the sweet scent of the cider they both drank.

Harry flinches and pointedly moves away. Tom continues walking as if that’s not odd at all. “Curious about what?”

“What you were thinking about.”

He resists the urge to turn around and look. “That rhymes with ‘bard’? A little. You know something about it?”

Tom smiles. “Only if you’re interested.”

“For a price?”

“No,” he says. “It’s not significant enough to earn a price.”

Harry considers. Clearly whatever’s up is important enough to move the guards, but he hasn’t heard an announcement either. Maybe it’s just a security measure? “I’m all ears, then,” he finally says.

“Word on the street is that there’s a little thief on the run,” Tom says, dropping his voice to a low murmur. He knows Harry doesn’t dare to put up a privacy barrier. “A small one, naturally. Not so big of a deal to ever strike Slytherin, but the fellow was a little active in Hufflepuff, targeting the magicless stalls. Well, Hufflepuff District does have the highest number of mundanes, so it makes sense, but it’s put the artisans in a rather bad mood.”

Harry frowns. That clearly points to a mudane thief as well—someone who couldn’t use magic obviously wouldn’t be able to break down magic security systems alone. “There were complaints, then.”

“Quite. But the thief has disappeared—hasn’t struck in a good week and a half. Still…”

“It would look bad if Hogwarts didn’t react, right?” Harry finishes.

“Precisely.”

Somewhere during their conversation, their pace had slowed. Harry speeds up again when a rude woman pushes past them, grumbling about how they should’ve went elsewhere if they wanted a stroll.

“Well,” Harry begins quietly, “It shouldn’t matter for Hedwig’s. Ward stones made from the Golem Resting Grounds are no joke—and I’m confident in my rune work to survive nothing less than an army.” A single ward stone couldn’t hold up against a corps of sorcerers, after all. Actually, maybe it could if it was a proper size, but it would have to be so massive there would be no point in calling it a ward stone.

Tom hums, somewhere between smug and proud. “Naturally.”

Harry flushes. Something about the way Tom said that—utterly confident and _sincere_ , it was—warms him inside. It’s not like he’s not used to compliments (people tend to compliment him when they’re scared for their lives), but. It’s Tom. It’s like comparing the words of a stranger to a friend—no, that’s exactly what it is; everyone else was practically a stranger before, and Tom is someone he values—

It’s different. It makes him happy in an unexpected way, clears his head of thought for that small second—speechless, it makes him speechless. And he doesn’t dislike it.

Tom stops walking. Harry frowns and turns around, about to ask what’s wrong only to see his gaze focused elsewhere.

“Tom…?”

Harry turns to look, too, but it’s basically a failure—the Slytherin Marketplace is simply too crowded with far too many things and people. It’s I-Spy on hard mode, except without the hints, which pretty much makes it expert mode. At least it’s not sudden death mode, Harry thinks. He does not want to play that game again. Villains suck. Good thing Tom’s not one.

“That man,” Tom says, brows furrowed, “at the blue stall—”

“Mmh?” Harry tries again. “Uhh…oh! Do you mean the one in the turkey feather suit?”

Tom gives him an odd look. “That...is not how I’d describe the pattern, but yes, Harry, the one in the turkey feather suit.”

Harry flushes pink. “Well it _is_ ,” he mumbles. “It’s brown! It’s got sort-of stripes! His cuffs are black and his button-up’s white! What else do you want from me, Merlin.”

“Yes, yes, dear,” Tom says with a laugh.

“ _Hmph_.” For lack of anything better to do, especially since he doesn’t want to look at Tom right now, he looks back at the turkey-feather-suited man. _Actually—_ Harry blinks. “Hey, wait a second. Slughorn?”

“ _Slughorn_ ,” Tom repeats under his breath. “You know him?”

“Yeah,” Harry answers thoughtlessly, and then quickly adds, “I mean, of course I do. But not _know-know_ , you know? He’s, you know, famous. In Hogwarts. Of course. Who doesn’t know about him, duh.”

Tom’s eyebrow goes way up. “Do enlighten me, if you please,” he drawls.

“Er, you know the Grand Library? He’s the current head librarian,” Harry replies. “But uh, he’s got a pretty thick portfolio, too, being Scotia’s official Magic Advisor. Advises the king and all that stuff. Most sorcerers know him by at least that. His specialization’s perfect for it.”

“What’s his specialization?”

“Information,” he answers, almost as if he’d long ago memorized it. Well, ‘memorized’… Harry supposes it counts? Horace is more of a friend-of-a-friend type of deal. He’s never spoken with the man personally, after all, but there are times when he’s had to do business with the so-called “Trivia Wizard.” Slughorn’s certainly not a man many could afford to have a bad relationship with.

“Hmm,” Tom says.

Harry wonders under what situation Tom knew about him, if he doesn’t know those things. It’s not his right to pry, but he is curious, so he asks, “Did you recognize him from somewhere?”

Tom pauses. “He helped me once,” he says, slow. “Seemed…friendly.”

“Oh, yes, he’s not a cruel man,” Harry says with a small laugh. “He wouldn’t be close friends with Al—the King if he was. So far he’s been as fair as the fairest Magic Advisor Scotia’s had, so we’ve got that going for us. I wouldn’t say he’s entirely unbiased, but, _well_ , His Majesty is a sorcerer, too.” He leaves it at that.

Tom doesn’t reply. Instead, he says, “What’s next on the list?” and starts to walk again.

Harry shrugs and follows him. “Sepia roots, which could probably be found with stinging flowers. We’re running out of stock for paralysis potions.”

“Groceries?”

“What do you want to eat today?” he asks right back.

“A pasta dish,” Tom says promptly. “I also need more bandages, as well as a new pair of socks.”

Harry frowns. “Socks?”

“Will-o-wisps. Vile creatures.”

“Ah, I got it,” he replies, nodding sympathetically. Then in a lower tone, he says, “How about I fuse your new ones? We got a bunch of those salamander scales I haven’t used yet from the last dive.”

Tom considers him. “You…can fuse?”

Harry pauses. He doesn’t mind anymore, he realizes. Tom went from a stranger he couldn’t even tell his birth date, to a friend he trusts enough to bare his magic to.

“It’s my specialization,” he says, and that’s not a confession or a secret whispered in shame or fright. It’s a part of him; it is him, _Harry_ , and Tom, as his friend, deserves to know. The amount of people with this knowledge are no more than the fingers on his hand, and now Tom is one of them. Something about that feels right, good, like a boulder's been pushed off his shoulders to roll down the slope of his back, becoming part of the very foundation he stands on. Harry feels a bit taller now, and much to his delight,  _Tom_ is the reason why.

Tom almost trips. Harry tries to smother his laughter, somewhat succeeds and points with his finger. “Hey, I think I saw a clothes stall over there. Maybe they have some socks.”

Tom’s lips curl. “Is it the one with a conveniently placed food stall across the street?”

“…Maybe.”

“From the bakery you like?”

“It’s fate,” Harry proclaims. “Come on, let’s go.”

Tom snorts. He follows anyway, and doesn’t mention it when Harry can’t stop smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> okay a few things:
> 
> 1\. SERIOUSLY I AM NOT GOING TO UPDATE IN A WHILE I HAVE FINALS????? I'm a mess. Procrastination is real. ./dies
> 
> 2\. Holy shit you guys, you press that kudos button like your life depends on it. 4/5 fics in the _this ain't no fairytale_ series have  >= 200 kudos??? ALREADY?! Wow. I see you guys, y'know. I don't just reply to the comments!! To the lurkers out there, thanks for showing me your silent love. This quick installment is for you.
> 
> 3\. If I renamed myself as _tag: Domestic Fluff_ instead of RenderedReversed I seriously don't think anyone would notice.
> 
> 4\. (kinda ties in with 3) Dude, I looked away for just a few minutes and somehow these guys are already in a comfortable marriage of 10+ years. I can't answer how that happened, but I am rubbing my hands together in malicious glee because I enjoy hurting myself and doing things backwards. (yo it's a happy ending tho don't u worry peeps)
> 
>  
> 
> Edit: what the fuck guys 183 kudos at 600 hits?!!!?!?!?!?!??!!??!!??!?!!?!?!?!? I'm in awe over here. Thanks so much ;_____;

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [gamble on this (podfic)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11571768) by [MTKiseki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MTKiseki/pseuds/MTKiseki)




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